


Home in the Storm

by brokentransition



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2018-09-19 18:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9453401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokentransition/pseuds/brokentransition
Summary: Chen was in another sticky situation. Caught in an alley way with no way to escape and no one to help him. Being left for dead in the alley was no surprise, he was almost shocked he had survived his life for so long. Chen was dying and he was alone. He was always alone, until the alley wasn’t so empty and soon, neither was his life.





	1. Chapter 1

           The small city of Beongae was in the midst of another terrifying storm. The city was historically prone to mild weather, but in the past five years, that had drastically changed. Beongae had become a place plagued by severe, lightning filled, storms. No one understood the reason for the sudden change. Clear skies would abruptly fill with dark clouds at any given time. There was no pattern, no warning. The city’s residents learned to fear the dangerous storms. They looked on each storm cloud with a greater sense of dread, but for the young man crouched in a dark alley way, the fat drops pounding down on him were a comfort.

            Chen had always found solace in inclement weather. The feel of a storm in the air would swirl around him like an eager pet, but this particular storm was perfectly timed, because Chen was not alone in this alley. Three large and burly men stood over him, two in front of him and one behind. Pain was pulsing through his body from the beating they were giving him moments before. The man behind him had been holding his arms behind his back, while the other two took turns punching and kicking him. Chen could almost laugh at how perfectly the men had followed out the cliche back-alley beating scene found in many movies, if it weren't his reality. 

The two men timed their efforts so that Chen was never without a new, forceful blow, not able to take in a breathe single breathe. He was covered in bruises, begging for this to be over, desperate for some kind of reprieve, when a loud crack of thunder startled the man behind him into releasing his hold. It was more than he could have hoped for. Chen was in no condition use it as an opportunity to run, but he was finally able to gasp in a lung full of air. He silently thanked the skies.

            “Where the hell did this storm come from?” one of the men in front of Chen called in confusion. He was the strongest and largest of the three men, but was obviously just a lackey.

 _I’ll call him Muscles,_ Chen thought, the pain not stopping him from, at least internally, mocking them. He was smart enough to know that offending them would only make the situation worse.

            “Shut up,” shouted the man beside him. “The sooner we deal with him, the sooner we get out of this shitty weather. Pick him up, you idiot!”

            _A true inspiration, definitely someone worth following,_ Chen sassed. _You must be the leader. Leader and Lap Dog for the eager to please muscle brain, such fitting names._

            Lap Dog grabbed Chen and roughly restrained him once more. Chen tried to put up a fight, but the man was much bigger than him and he was already heavily injured. The other two moved forward, their attention easily returned to their prey.

            “Let me go,” Chen struggled weakly against his captor. He knew he could not take much more of their harsh treatment and they looked all to happy to continue. “I won’t tell anyone what I saw and I’ll return everything I took.”

            “Oh, little thief, that’s not the point,” Leader replied, with a condescending smirk. “You can’t talk your way out of this one. You got caught stealing from the wrong people.”

            “How about a deal? I return what I took and I steal from your competition,” Chen scrambled to convince him. “That would be good for you. Just let me go without any additional damage.”

            Leader shook his head, “clever, but not good enough. You didn’t manage to get anything important and we caught you. I doubt you would get anything from our competitors and we have plenty of thieves working under us. You have nothing to offer and you’re not a threat, but here’s the thing. We can’t have people know that a little thief like you managed to steal from us and survived. That’s just not how things work. We have a vicious reputation to maintain. You made yourself the perfect example.”

            Rain was still pounding down and the wind was whipping against them violently, but the thugs would no longer be distracted. Leader’s hand came up to point at a bat Muscles had discarded when they first dragged Chen into the alley. The man immediately picked up the bat and approached Chen again. His muscular frame coupled with the way he allowed the bat to drag behind him, brought images of the neanderthal to mind.

            _I can't die at the hands of such morons_ , Chen thought fleetingly.

            “Be thorough,” Leader ordered, gleefully. “We want to send a strong message.”

            Muscles remained stony faced as he raised the bat and swung it forcefully into Chen’s stomach. The sky flashed and a loud clap of thunder drowned out the cry of pain and harsh coughs that followed. Chen’s eyes filled with tears and he sagged in Lap Dog’s hold. He was so focused on the damage from the first blow, that the second blow took him by surprise, this time the bat slammed down on his right leg. An unmistakable snap shot fire through Chen’s leg and the sky lit again, a nearby dumpster sparking with electricity and a deafening roar of thunder followed instantly.

            “Shit boss,” Lap Dog yelled, “that is way too close!”

            “Bash him in the head and then we’ll get out of here,” Leader ordered, refusing to leave the job unfinished.

            Again, the bat was raised over Chen, now panting and delirious with pain. As the bat collided with Chen’s head, a third bolt of lightning struck the ground directly beside him, scaring the three thugs into a panic. Lap Dog dropped Chen and dashed after Leader and Muscles, scrambling from the alley in fear.

            On the ground, Chen barely held onto consciousness. Each shallow breath he took shot jolts of agony through his chest, his right leg fluctuated between completely numb and an unbearable blaze of pain, and his head throbbed sickeningly. His vision was blurring in and out of focus and his soaked clothes caused his damaged form to shiver violently, jolting his injuries and increasing the pain of each one.

            _This is how I die_ , Chen thought, through the fog in his mind. _Alone and beaten in an alley. A fitting end for a thief. Always alone._

            The sky continued to rumble with electricity and the rain pelted down mercilessly, keeping the streets devoid of all people. No one would go out in the harsh storm. No one would find the man slowly dying an agonizing death. Chen was alone in the world, but just as he closed his eyes, surrendering to the inevitable, a loud crack sounded in the alley, this time not caused by the storm. He was vaguely aware of voices nearby, before he faded from consciousness all together.

* * *

            “This is where Suho and Sehun said the eye of the storm is, so he must be close,” said a dark-haired man to his two companions. The three men had appeared from thin air at the opening of an alley way and were looking around them carefully.

            “He’s definitely close. I can sense him,” replied the shortest of the three.

            “Which way should we go,” the third and tallest of the trio asked.

            “Give me a second. We’re so close that it’s hard to pin point the exact direction,” the shortest answered. “I think the pull is the strongest down this alley.”

            “Why would he be in an alley?” the first one tilted his head in confusion. “He can’t even see the storm he’s creating.”

            “That would explain why it’s so chaotic. Just trust me please,” the short one said, before staring down the alley. “It looks empty, but the feeling is getting stronger. Maybe – wait!”

            The short one gasped and ran to the end of the alley where Chen lay crumpled on the ground, the other two right behind him. He dropped to his knees beside Chen and slowly reached out a shaking hand to touch Chen’s cheek, before gasping again.

            “It’s definitely him,” the short one whispered dazedly. The words seemed to snap him out of his shocked state and into action. “It’s him! It’s him and we’re losing him! Tao, I need you to stop his time. Kai, get Lay here now!”

            Immediately a loud crack was heard and the first of the three to talk, Kai, disappeared. The tallest man, Tao as the other had labeled him, moved to kneel beside the short one and took a deep breath. He raised his right hand and brought it down in a graceful arc to tap Chen’s forehead, gently. All movement from Chen ceased, even his breathing.

            “This doesn’t look good, Luhan,” Tao whispered, “but he can’t get any worse for now. When Lay gets here I’ll have to start his time again for healing to have any effect.”

            Luhan sighed, “Lay will save him. You know how powerful he is. Everything will be fine.”

            “How could this happen, gege,” Tao asked. “It makes no sense. With his powers, how could anyone get close enough to do this kind of damage?”

            Before the other could respond, the familiar cracking sound was heard and Kai returned with a new man beside him.

            “It’s really bad, Lay. Tao stopped his time while we waited for Kai to get you,” Luhan said with a frantic edge to his voice, as Lay crouched down beside him and placed a careful hand on Chen’s forehead.

            “Three broken ribs, internal bleeding, concussion, broken leg, severe bruising,” Lay mumbled. “I’ve never healed anything this extreme. I’ll need you to at least slow his time while I heal him Tao, but we can’t do this here. Healing all this damage is going to take a long time. Can you keep him paused while Kai takes us home?”

            “If I touch him it should be fine,” Tao answered, then gently picked Chen up and stood beside Kai. The other two men followed and they formed a circle with Kai at the center.

            “Ready,” Kai asked, as they each grabbed onto one of his arms. They all nodded and with a final crack, the alley was empty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and bookmarks!

“Stop,” Chen mumbled disorientedly, as his sleep fogged brain struggled against a strange discomfort. His entire body felt heavy with fatigue, but a string sensation in his mind kept him from returning to sleep. It felt like something foreign was slithering through his mind. Chen didn’t know what it was, but it felt invasive and fighting it was giving him a headache.

“Did he say something? Is he waking up,” Chen heard a deep voice ask, alerting him to the presence of others. As a small-time thief that slept in abandoned buildings, he was alarmed. It never ended well when he woke to other people in whatever place he had fallen asleep, especially if they were talking about him. Usually he would have to defend his stolen possessions, end up hurt in some way, and have to find a new ‘safe place’ to camp in. Chen was trying to figure out which of his few possessions was worth fighting for, when he realized that he had no idea where he was. Panic was working its way into his system, but Chen stayed still and silent, hoping that listening in on the conversation around him would give him a plan to escape.

“He still seems asleep,” a calm authoritative voice replied. “His injuries are all healed, but he needs more rest. Lay said he should be out for a while.”

These words brought the violent scenes from the alley crashing down on Chen. Memories of pain, fear, and reluctantly surrendering to death, had one question baffling him. How could he have survived the attack? How was he alive, let alone, completely uninjured?

“I can’t tell,” a third, higher pitched voice said, sounding confused. “It’s hard to read him.”

“You shouldn’t be reading him to begin with,” the deep voice snapped. “Why am I the only one that thinks that this is wrong? You would never do this to any of the others. Why is it any different with him?”

“Everyone else agreed to this, Chanyeol. Stop arguing,” a fourth voice, this one gravelier than the others and sounding frustrated, spoke. “This is for all of our protection. It’s the safest thing considering his power and his condition when he was found. He seems dangerous and we all know what that could mean.”

“His power? Really, Kris,” the deep voice exclaimed incredulously, “so we’re just going to have Luhan invade the mind of anyone with a destructive power? Am I next then? Do you not trust me anymore?!”

“Please, calm down,” the calm voice said in a soothing tone. “You know that’s not what he meant. We need to know if we can trust him. Why didn’t he come find us? Judging by the weather in that poor city, he’s had his powers for about 5 years now. Why stay there? Why cause so much damage? We need answers to these questions before we just welcome him in.”

“So, ask him when he wakes up,” the deep voice yelled, “don’t assume he’s dangerous based on nothing! You can’t just invade his privacy like this!”

“You know it’s not nothing,” the gravelly voice shot back, now completely out of patience.

Listening to the argument going on around him, Chen was finding it more and more difficult to maintain his sleeping act. He was so confused by everything they were saying, it was hard to keep his questions from spilling out. They seemed to be talking about him, but he didn’t understand what they meant by ‘reading him’ and ‘invading his mind.’ It also seemed like they were blaming him for the dangerous storms that had plagued his small city for the past five years, which seemed ridiculous. His headache was getting worse by the second, the weird sensation in his head had yet to stop, and not understanding a word of their conversation and having no clue where he was just made it even worse.

“All of you arguing is making this even harder,” the higher voice spoke, sounding like he was trying to control his annoyance. “Whether you like it or not, this is what was decided. I’ll try not to delve into anything too personal, but I need to get a basic understanding of him.”

Chen wanted to laugh at this, despite his confusion and the pain in his skull. There wasn’t much about his life that needed explaining. He was a thief, he stole what he needed to survive and tried not to catch anyone’s attention. His goal was always just to make it through to the next day. He had no family, he never had any family. His parents had either died or abandoned him, he wasn’t sure which, when he was a baby so he grew up in a shelter. It wasn’t a terrible place, but the older children seemed to take strange delight in bullying him, verbally and physically. After a particularly vicious attack, Chen managed to run away from the shelter and had been on his own ever since, he was only ten at the time. So, Chen learned how to fend for himself, how to take what he needed, even if the guilt for his actions never truly went away. He made sure that he only ever took when necessary and only from those he knew had plenty to spare.

“I think he’s a thief,” the high-pitched voice said, startling Chen out of his thoughts. “I just got a small flash of his memory and he was picking a lock.”

“You see, Chanyeol,” the gravelly voice sounded triumphant. “We can’t trust him. He probably provoked whatever happened in that alley. He hurts people.”

Rage started to build in Chen’s chest. He hated the assumption that he hurt people. Yes, he stole to get by, but he never harmed anyone. He had risked being caught by a gang rather than steal from innocent people. Just because he stole didn’t mean he was a monster and it didn’t mean he enjoyed it. His fists clenched as he struggled to calm down. Then, suddenly, the pulling in his mind got stronger, causing the pain in his head to spike, and Chen pushed back at the feeling. He was so angry and this invasive force in his head was making everything worse. All of his rage focused on making it stop, on making it go away.

A yelp rang through the room, sharp and pained, followed by the no longer calm voice shouting a concerned, “Luhan!”

“He’s awake and he just shocked me,” the high-pitched voice sounded strained.

Realizing he could no longer eaves drop, Chen opened his eyes and forced his tired body to move until he was sitting upright, glaring at the four strangers at the end of the bed. The four men were an interesting group, two extremely tall, the other two short, and all of them staring at him. One of the shorter men was hunched over, with a hand clutched to his head. He had delicate, feminine features and his hair was light-brown. Next to him, the other short man stood with a hand on his shoulder. Despite his focus on Chen, he seemed to be hovering over the other man, making sure he was ok. He had a sturdier build than the other, less delicate, with a gentle face and black hair. In the center of the group, was a tall man with bright red hair and large ears. Chen’s glare eased for a moment, when he locked eyes with the man. Unlike the others, there was nothing wary in his gaze. He seemed friendly and open. Then his eyes moved to the last of the four men. This man was the tallest and most intimidating of the group. His dark eyes stared menacingly at Chen, looking prepared to attack. His large, intimidating eyebrows, were pulled low over his eyes and his entire face was sharp with defensiveness.

“Who are you people,” Chen hissed, failing to control his emotions, despite the danger it could cause him, weak and outnumbered. “Where am I?”

“I’m Suho,” the short, black-haired man stepped forward to speak. “This is Luhan, Chanyeol, and Kris.” He pointed to the delicate looking man, the large-eared man, and the fierce, intimidating man in turn. Chen recognized Suho as the calm voice he heard earlier. “You are in our home.”

“Why am I here? What do you want from me,” Chen asked, wanting to get the important questions out of the way, so he could figure out his next move.

“Some of the others and I found you in an alley,” the delicate looking man, his voice matching the high-pitched voice and the one Suho had introduced as Luhan, said. “You were in really bad shape, almost dead. We got you here and one of them healed you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Chen challenged. “What do you want from me? You were judging me and trying to figure out if you can trust me, so what is it you want?”

“We want you to join us, like you should have before,” came the gravelly voice of Kris.

“You really don’t look like you want me here,” Chen eyed them all carefully, taking in Suho’s guarded expression and Luhan’s tense stance. “None of you do. And what do you mean ‘like you should have before’? I don’t know you. So again, why am I here?”

“I want you here,” Chanyeol said with sincerity. Chen recognized him as the deep voice and found himself trusting the large-eared man. One of the few things Chen understood from the gibberish conversation earlier was that Chanyeol tried to defend him to the others. The friendly man sent Chen a small smile, which he briefly returned, before glaring at the others again.

“You’re here, because you’re one of us,” Suho finally answered. “or at least you’re meant to be.”

“One of us,” Chen questioned with a raised eyebrow. The words sounded ominous and made nothing clearer to him. The four men looked at him like he was meant to understand everything now, but Chen was just worried he had been taken in by a crazy cult.

“One of the twelve guardians,” Kris said in a condescending tone.

“Like the guardians from the legend,” Chen scoffed. He was officially certain they were a crazy cult. The only ‘twelve guardians’ he had ever heard of, were from an old legend he was told in the shelter as a child. Everyone knew the tale. It was about the creation of the world, the tree of life, and how twelve people protected it and maintained balance in the universe. It was an old bedtime story, not even a popular one. Most of the children at the shelter liked the stories with knights and dragons, but something in the legend of the twelve guardians was comforting to Chen. It was always his favorite, but it was only a story.

“Yes, of course,” Suho said, straight-faced and apparently serious. “All of us. The others are around the house. You were the only one missing.”

“You’re saying that you are some of the twelve guardians,” Chen laughed, “that you have magical powers and protect a tree? Oh, I’ve been taken by crazy people.”

“You don’t know,” Suho asked hesitantly, looking surprised. “But you should have had the dreams by now. We’re not crazy. The guardians are real and you’re one of us too.”

“Definitely crazy. Dreams aren’t real and even if they were, dreams are for people who can sleep in safe comfy houses. I don’t dream, but thanks for the laugh,” Chen sneered. Their conversation was starting to make sense now. One of the guardians was meant to be a telepath, so they probably meant mind reading when they said they were ‘reading him.’ They thought little Luhan was the guardian with telepathy and telekinesis. Chen found the whole thing hilarious, in a messed up, I’ve been kidnapped by lunatics, way.

“He really doesn’t know,” Chanyeol whispered. The four men exchanged looks. They seemed to have some sort of silent conversation, before turning back to Chen. Then all the sense and understanding Chen found since waking up was destroyed. He watched in shock as Kris lifted off the ground to hover in the air, Chanyeol’s arms burst into flames, Suho raised a hand palm up and ball of water form over it, and Chen felt the bed under him lift when Luhan pulled his hand up. They stood in front of him, impossible, straight out of fantasy, and Chen yelped.

“I’ve gone crazy! I’m in a coma dream, because of the hit to my head,” Chen huddled on the bed, eyes wide and frightened as he hugged himself on the floating bed. He was scared and so confused. He needed all of this to stop. He needed to wake up from this dream and laugh about how weird it was. A sudden rumble of thunder sounded from outside and the bed crashed to the ground.

“Hey, calm down, it’s ok,” Chanyeol soothed, arms no longer wrapped in flames.

“Don’t cause another storm,” Suho said sternly, guiding the ball of water into a flask at his side that Chen had not noticed earlier.

“I don’t think he knows he’s causing them,” Chanyeol defended. “He doesn’t know about what he can do.”

“It explains why we had to find him,” Luhan added.

“Or it could be an act,” Kris argued, firmly on the ground again. “You can’t read him. How do we know he’s telling us the truth? He’s a thief! He must be a great liar!”

“Stop it,” Chen shouted, as more thunder rumbled outside. “Stop talking like I’m not here! This-this is too crazy. I need to get out of here.” Chen scrambled to get up and off the bed, but flinched back when Suho move forward to stop him.

“You need to stay here and rest,” Suho’s wary gaze softened to one of concern as he looked down at Chen. “Lay told us that you need to sleep. Your body went through a lot of stress from your injuries. Even though he healed you, you still need time to recover your strength.”

“Plus, you need to stay with us now,” Luhan did not sound thrilled by this statement. “We went through a lot to find you. We need all twelve of us to be together.”

“I’m not staying here,” Chen’s tone was acidic and the others froze as light flashed from the window. “I don’t care what insane magic you can do, you can’t make me stay here. I’m not one of you. Just let me leave!”

“This really isn’t going well,” Suho sighed, wearily. “Look, we don’t want to force you to stay here, but we do need you. Just, give us a chance to explain things to you.”

“You want me to give you a chance,” Chen shook his head incredulously. Clouds swelled and darkened the room as he spoke. “After you poked around in my mind while I was unconscious?! I woke up to a mama bear, a pretty boy, an overgrown elf, and the king of eyebrows judging my life! What gives you the right to decide everything?”

“I’m manly,” Luhan shouted, indignantly.

“Now’s not the time,” Suho scolded.

“Please don’t leave,” Chanyeol captured all of Chen’s attention with his quiet statement. He had a pitifully sad look on his face. His wide, sincere gaze melted Chen’s heart. He wanted to know this man, this friendly giant that defended a stranger to his friends. Outside the gathering storm calmed slightly. “We just found you. We don’t even know your name yet. Don’t you want to join us? To be part of our family?” 

“You’re so naïve, Chanyeol,” Kris growled. “He’s playing us. I don’t trust him!”

“OUT,” Chen yelled, completely out of patience. The storm picked up again and lightning flashed as he spoke. “Get out! If I can’t leave, then at least leave me alone. All of you go away! All of you, except Chanyeol.”

“You can’t make us leave,” Kriss hissed. “This is our home.”

“I don’t care, Eyebrows,” Chen shot back, then turned his gaze to Suho. “You say I’m meant to stay, that you want me to join you, but everything word out of his mouth drips with suspicion and you and Pretty Boy look like you want nothing to do with me. Well, I don’t trust the three of  _ you _ . It seems you guys won’t be letting me leave and you all have scary super powers so I’ll listen, for now, but I want you all out of this room. I’ll get the answers I need from the only trustworthy one here. The rest of you I want gone.”

Kris’s face was red with rage, as he yelled out, “No way am I—”

“Kris, stop,” Suho ordered calmly, his eyes shifted to the window where the storm continued to build. “We’re only making this worse. Let’s do what he says.” 

“This has to be an act! He’s manipulating thing to get his way and he’s only letting Chanyeol stay for a reason,’ Kris argued. “He can already see that Chanyeol will be easy to trick. We shouldn’t leave them alone together. Who knows what he’ll do.”

“He’s not our enemy,” Chanyeol shouted, “and I’m not some gullible kid!”

“Kris, get out, now,” Suho stared the much taller man down until he huffed and stomped out of the room. Then he grabbed Luhan’s arm and followed Kriss out, dragging Luhan behind him.

“I’m sorry about them,” Chanyeol said softly, once they were alone. “They’re not normally like this.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Chen replied.

Chanyeol sent Chen another kind smile, as walked over and sat on the bed, facing Chen. He settled into a comfortable position, before tilting his head to the side, in a puppy like gesture of curiosity. “So, what is it you want to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of exposition. I had a lot I needed to set up for the rest of the story.  
> Please let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

_ “Alright kids, what story would you like to hear this time,” a beautiful woman with long dark hair asked the children eagerly seated around her. She was a kind-hearted person that regularly visited the children’s shelter located at the edge of Beongae to tell stories and bring joy to the children. The shelter itself was small and in need of repairs, but somewhat presentable for visitors, though few came.  _

_ The main play area for the younger children was a room only slightly larger than one of the bed rooms, with plain beige walls, a small window on the back wall that let in almost no light, and a small collection of old, mostly broken toys piled in a corner. The woman was seated in a child-sized chair at the center of the room and the children sat, crossed-legged, on the ground in a semi-circle in front of her. Most of the children were four to seven years old, but ten-year-old Jongdae sat attentively among the younger kids. _

_ Although there was a room for the older children, young Jongdae never went there, instead spending his free time playing with and watching over the youngest kids at the shelter. The older kids never seemed to like him, but the younger kids were sweet and loving. He made sure to keep them out of trouble, so that they never had to deal with any of the punishments the older kids might dish out. Discipline at the shelter was a strange hierarchy that Jongdae wanted to keep the innocent little ones away from. He was their protector and he prefered being around them to the time he was forced to spend with the kids his own age. _

_ “Come, now, don’t be shy,” the woman prompted, when none of the children answered. _

_ “Jongdae should pick,” a five-year-old girl in a pink dress on Jongdae’s right side said, before she dove in to lean on the older boy. _

_ “Yeah, Dae,” a three-year-old boy shouted from his spot in Jongdae’s lap. He was the youngest in the shelter and Jongdae doted on him as much as he could. This mostly meant carrying the younger boy around when he was tired or letting him sit in his lap during stories. The other kids all nodded at the idea. _

_ “Alright then. Jongdae, what would you like to hear,” the woman asked with a knowing smile. She had been coming to the shelter for several years, so she knew what story the boy would pick. _

_ “Well,” Jongdae smiled at the woman hopefully, “would you mind telling the story of the guardians? It’s my favorite.” _

_ “Of course, Jongdae, that one’s my favorite too,” the woman answered, before straightening her shoulders and leaning forward to begin the tale. _

_ “Long ago, before the world began, all of the elements existed in a void of chaos. They clashed against each other, all equally strong and unstoppable, until one day they fused, unable to part. From this collision came the earth and the seas, the plants, the animals, and even people. The world and everything in it was born, but it was volatile. The elements were out of balance. They pushed against each other, struggling to move apart once more, and threatening to destroy the newly made world. _

_ “The people on the planet struggled to survive with the harsh elements, in a constant state of fear. Humanity was new and fragile, helpless against the destruction. There seemed to be no hope for the world, until a group of brothers came forward, determined to find a solution. Each of them studied one of the forces in the world. They observed everything they could about the elements threatening to destroy them, the powers that helped them survive, and even the neutral forces of existence.  _

_ “Through their work they realized that each of the forces had a pattern, a unique movement that could work peacefully with the others, but they were all out of sync. If they could find a way harmonize the elements, the world would finally be at peace and humanity could move forward without constant fear of destruction. So they worked harder and learned more and more about the patterns governing the force that they studied, until they found themselves falling into the pattern of their force. They became a part of it and it fused to them. _

_ “At first the brothers struggled with their elements. The forces continued to move against each other, they tried to push the brothers apart, but the brothers refused to give in. They would not allow their elements to harm their brothers or destroy them, so they found a way to control them. They found a safe place, a rare peaceful meadow empty of all but one tree, and joined together to stabilize the forces that now lived within them.  _

_ “First the brother with water guiding his movements came forward, brought his hand down and tethered his force to the tree. Then the brother who soared above the ground came forward, brought his hand down and tethered his gift to the tree. Next came the brother who molded the earth beneath his feet, followed by the brother with ice in his breath. Then came the brother with fire sparking from his fingers, then the brother who brought life with his touch. Then the brother who entered the mind and moved the world around him. Next came the brother with light in his eyes, then the one moved through time. The brother who danced with the wind and the one who moved with just thought came forward together. Then there was a pause and all the brothers waited in fear that they would be destroyed, until at last the brother with lightning in his veins came forward brought his hand down and bound all the forces to the tree forever. _

_ “Those twelve brothers spent the rest of their lives protecting the tree from those who would bring chaos to the world and when they died their powers were reborn in children who held their same spirit. Each generation had its twelve guardians, maintaining the balance of the universe through their shared bond. Water, flight, earth, ice, fire, healing, telepathy and telekinesis, light, time, wind, teleportation, and lightning working in harmony. History has forgotten them now, but they may still be out there. I believe that they are and who knows, maybe one of the elements lives inside you.” _

* * *

“What do you want to know,” Chanyeol prompted again when Chen simply stared at him blankly.

“I… don’t know where to start,” Chen said slowly, his mind struggling to process what had occurred in the room moments before. “Can you do the fire thing again? I just… well this still doesn’t seem real. Maybe that will help.”

“Sure,” Chanyeol agreed, then slowly raised his hand palm up in between them and a small flame hovered just over the palm of his hand. “Here, I’ll keep it tame so I don’t scare you again.”

“Th-thanks,” Chen replied, eyes wide and staring at the flame Chanyeol held. “Does, um, does it hurt?”

“No, well it can, but mostly no,” Chanyeol answered, a surprised look on his face. “People don’t normally ask that. They just assume it doesn’t.”

“Does it hurt now? You can stop. I’m sorry for asking you to do that. It’s just a lot to process,” concern flooded Chen’s expression and he let out a sigh of relief when Chanyeol extinguished the flame and dropped his hand to the bed.

“You don’t have to apologize, I’m fine. It… it only hurts if I lose control. I used to lose control a lot, but it happens way less often now,” Chanyeol smiled, looking proud of himself. “It took some time, but yeah, you don’t have to worry. And now I feel even worse about how the others were treating you. Thank you for worrying about me.”

“Oh, uh, no problem. Any decent person would though,” Chen brushed off the gratitude. He wasn’t used to having anyone to care for anymore and was surprised by how easily that part of his personality resurfaced. He lived on the streets, he had to be on guard all the time, but something about Chanyeol was drawing out his compassion and making it difficult to remember he was a stranger. 

_He may be kinder than the others, but you’re still just a small time thief. You’re just getting information. You’re not making friends and you don’t need friends. Distance is better,_ Chen thought, before changing the subject. “So my questions. You guys were talking a lot of gibberish before. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Well you know the legend of the twelve guardians already, right,” Chanyeol asked, leaning closer to Chen, who nodded quickly. “Good, so you have the basic understanding.”

“Yeah, twelve brothers, super powers, tree of life, balance and order in the universe, blah, blah, blah,” Chen spouted off, eager for new information.

“Good enough,” Chanyeol laughed. “Well the powers pass on to someone with the same spirit as the previous guardian, right?”

“That always confused me,” Chen whined. The story of the twelve guardians was his favorite as a kid and he unconsciously let his childish side out. “What does that even mean? Reincarnation?”

“Not exactly,” Chanyeol clarified. “It means… uh, I’m the worst at explaining these things. Suho usually does it. He says the same spirit thing pretty much means that the powers move to someone with traits that are similar to their power and allow them to control it. Like water goes to people who are honorable, just, responsible, but also playful and caring. That’s why Suho is pretty much our leader.”

“What about fire,” Chen asked, curiosity bright in his eyes.

“Well, apparently fire is about being passionate and energetic, constantly moving like a flame,” Chanyeol shrugged. “Sounds too poetic to me.”

“How does it work? Did one of your parents have your power? Does the previous guardian bestow his powers upon the one who is worthy,” Chen let his mind wander into sillier scenarios, “Oh, is there a ritual? Did you have to do some kind of quest to unlock your powers?”

“No to all of that,” Chanyeol chuckled. “The powers aren’t inherited, they go to the best representation of them. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but we don’t get our powers until we turn 15.”

“What was that like? I mean did you know anything or did you just suddenly light something on fire one day and freak out,” Chen wondered.

“It wasn’t totally out of the blue. We get these dreams, you should have had them too, that start before our powers arrive. The powers, come with… memories I guess, from the guardians before us. Important moments in the previous guardians lives. I thought they were just dreams at first, but they felt so different from my other dreams, too much detail,” Chanyeol explained. “Then one day I got mad at my mom and the chair I was sitting on burst into flames. I’d been gripping the armrests. The dreams started making more sense after that. The earlier dreams were about how the other guardians came into their powers, so it explained things. I learned from them.”

“Where you ok,” Chen watched Chanyeol’s face change as he talked about discovering his powers and worry bubbled up again. His earlier thoughts about remaining distant were already forgotten.

“What,” Chanyeol asked, looking startled.

“When you set that chair on fire? Were you ok,” Chen clarified. “You said that your powers can hurt you when you’re not in control. The first time you must have been scared and you didn’t know about it to be in control. Were you ok? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“No…,” Chanyeol whispered, “I was terrified, so my emotions kept making it bigger. The fire was climbing up my arms, my mom was screaming, and it wasn’t burning me at first, but then my mom threw water at me to put it out and the flames got even bigger. More things around me started catching fire and my mom ran away to find my sister and she didn’t come back and I was alone and- and I burned the house down…”

Chanyeol’s voice got softer and softer as he told the story, his face clouding over with distress. At the end his voice caught and tears began to drip down his face. Chen immediately scrambled forward and grabbed Chanyeol’s hand, barely noticing the heat radiating from it.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you relive that,” Chen brought his arm around the other man, rubbing his back as he sniffled and struggled to calm down. “I’m so, so sorry, but you’re safe now Chanyeol. You said you have more control now. You must have come a long way.”

“Y-yeah,” Chanyeol nodded and leaned into the comfort Chen provided. “I have. I can control it, I’m not dangerous anymore. I’m not dangerous anymore.”

“Of course you’re not,” Chen whispered and pulled Chanyeol closer to lean into his side. Chen sighed internally at how quickly and easily he had given in to the strange bond he felt with Chanyeol. After years on his own, it didn’t even take a full conversation for him to completely drop his guard. He had always had a soft spot for innocence and Chanyeol was triggering it with his openness. They stayed in silence for a while, neither questioning why they suddenly seemed to have such a deep connection. It made sense in the moment and Chen grudgingly allowed himself to enjoy the feeling.

“Why is he upset,” an angry voice snapped Chen and Chanyeol out of their bubble of silence. A door slammed shut and loud stomping could be heard, pounding in their direction. Chanyeol pulled away from Chen and stood up from the bed.

“Get out of my way, Suho,” the voice yelled.

“I’m fine,” Chanyeol shouted towards the door, an amused look brightening his tear stained face. “You don’t have to worry about me!”

“I don’t believe you,” the voice yelled back. “Get out here and prove it, or I’m taking down the door and Suho with it and then you better not be fine!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Chanyeol chuckled and turned back to Chen to say a hurried, “Give me a couple minutes.”

With that Chanyeol darted out the door. Chen stared after him with wide-eyes, completely baffled by everything. From the moment he woke up, it was like he had fallen into a new world. He was doubting his own sanity more and more with each passing moment, but some small part of him was urging him to listen. Maybe it was the child in him that dreamed about the 12 guardians or his curious nature taking over. Whatever it was, he knew he wanted to hear more, despite how scared he was.

The most confusing part of everything was how drawn in he felt by Chanyeol. That was what was scaring him most. He was already growing attached to the man. Chen was used to being alone, he didn’t know how to adjust to such a sudden and unexpected bond. Was it all in his head? Was Chanyeol like this with everyone, or was this as strange as he found it?

Chen saw the door opening again and struggled to gather his thoughts,  _ just focus on getting information on why they took you here. Stop getting distracted. _

“Sorry about that,” Chanyeol grinned as he slipped into the room and returned to his previous position on the bed with Chen.

“It’s alright, he sounded… angry,” Chen fumbled for a word strong enough to describe the venom in the voice he heard through the door.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol’s smile widened. “Had to make sure he didn’t kill Suho. You’ll get it when you meet him.”

“Um, yeah that brings me to my next question,” Chen hurried to bring the conversation to the most important point, before he could be pulled in by the closeness he felt with Chanyeol again. “Why am I here? Why do you think I am one of you? I can promise you, I don’t have any powers.”

_ My life would be so different if I did _ , Chen thought bitterly.

“You are one of us,” Chanyeol asserted. “We know it for a fact. Luhan’s powers allow him to sense the other guardians. He said our minds feel differently then the minds of other people, something to do with our powers I guess.”

“Maybe it was some mix up. Some other person nearby was the one with powers and Luhan just got confused,” Chen insisted.

“It’s definitely you and we’ve seen you use your powers already. You’re the last of the twelve guardians, the friend we’ve been waiting for,” Chanyeol smiled hopefully at Chen, sweet and welcoming.

“I don’t have friends,” Chen’s tone turned cold, as his mind flashed through years of loneliness and struggling to survive, “and I don’t have powers. So I should just leave.”

“But you can’t leave,” Chanyeol shouted, horror painting itself on his face. “We just found you! Please, I want you to stay. I want us to be friends.”

“You want me to stay, because you think you need me,” Chen said, ignoring the voice in his head screaming to trust Chanyeol, longing to be his friend. “Once you realize I have no powers, you’ll move on to the actual missing guardian. I’m just trying to speed up the process. Besides, none of your friends want me here.”

“The others are letting stupid things make them overly cautious. I don’t care what they say,” Chanyeol said stubbornly, “and wanting to be your friend isn’t just about you being a guardian anymore. You’re a good person, I can tell.”

“I’m not,” Chen replied, acid in his voice. “Like your friend said, I’m a thief.”

“Doesn’t make you a bad person,” argued Chanyeol. “I don’t get what’s happening. When I left the room it seemed like we were already becoming friends. What changed?”

“I remembered that this isn’t some fantasy world, even if you do have super powers. This is reality,” Chen worked to reign in his emotions, trying to put up a neutral front. “And in my reality the only thing that matters is surviving to the next day. This has all been very interesting, but I should go back to the streets where I belong now.”

“You belong here… um” Chanyeol paused, deflating, as a realization struck him, “You… uh, you never said your name…”

Chen burst out laughing, the sound anything but happy. His lips curled into a smirk, though his eyes hinted at sadness, “See, you know nothing about me. You should just let me leave. It was fun fantasy while it lasted. I appreciate not being dead in an alley and all, but it’s time for me to go.”

“The others won’t just let you leave,” Chanyeol sighed, “but I’ll talk with them. We can’t force you to stay if you really want to go. Just stay for a little while at least. You only just woke up, after almost dying. A healing like that leaves its mark, even if you don’t feel it right now. Lay, our healer, is still recovering from how much power it took. It’s going to take at least a week to get back to normal.”

Chen realized how tired he was feeling and slowly nodded. He had been on the streets when he felt far worse, but if he could go back in a better state, he would be dumb to give up the opportunity. “Fine, I’ll stay to rest a bit, but only for a few days.”

“Good,” Chanyeol gave a small smile, “and please, while you’re here, give us a chance. I want to get to know you. I want you to stay.”

“I’ll give you a chance,” Chen reluctantly agreed, with a yawn, “the others seem like jerks, so I make no promises.”

“I can’t blame you of that,” Chanyeol chuckled. “I should let you get some rest. Sorry for springing so much on you right after you woke up. Must have been overwhelming.”

“That’s one word for it,” Chen mumbled, as he settled back on the bad to sleep.

“Someone will bring you some food later,” Chanyeol said as he got up from the bed and headed out of the room, pausing and turning back at the door. “Can I know your name, please?”

Chen debated for a moment before nodding, “It’s… Chen.”

“I’m happy you’re here, Chen,” Chanyeol looked at Chen with such sincerity in his eyes, that Chen couldn’t dismiss it and averted his escape how it affected him. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you, Chanyeol,” Chen whispered too softly to hear, as the door closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it has been over a year since I posted the second chapter. I apologize. Life has been crazy. Thank you to the people who commented and reminded me about this story!   
> I made a few edits to the first two chapters, because I don't remember all of what I originally had planned. Anyway, this chapter is a lot of setup. I hope you like it. I will try to have the third chapter up in a reasonable amount of time and not another year.

**Author's Note:**

> I have so much love for Chen and Xiuchen. There aren't enough fics out there for them.   
> Hope this brought you joy. Ok, no this was kinda violent, I hope you were entertained.


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